Ken+CallawayLBF


 * Executive Summary**

This project is aimed at discovering what makes learning enjoyable in the hopes of discovering new ways teachers can stimulate interest in their learners. Each member of the Learning, Boredom, Fun Project (LBFP) began by taking a survey concerning a time they were bored while in a learning environment and a situation in which they had fun while in a learning situation. All members then found at least three other individuals to take the same survey, creating a database of over 200 responses focused on what makes learning either stimulating or tedious. Sixty percent of the respondents were female, and while most of the sampling were adults ranging in age from twenty year olds to sixty-three, there were several teenagers that took part and one seven year old child. Over two-thirds of those that participated had at least some college education, so the results might be skewed a bit in that those that continue on the higher education have a favorable bias toward the classroom experience


 * What Makes Learning Boring?**

1. Most correspondents, whether in high school or college, considered lectures to be boring unless the instructor brought something unusual to the experience. Most of us spent our secondary and higher education years listening to hours and hours or lectures. Not surprisingly, most of us found these endless hours to be completely boring. Krisco speaks for many learners when he recalls his experience learning statistics in a stadium classroom in college. He reminisces that the “content was boring. When the entire learning session is a lecture, it is dull. It was hard to remain focused without any interaction.” Scientist, while discussing taking a chemistry class in college, echoes his feelings about lectures, particularly regarding the stadium style lectures. He says, “The lecture was held in an auditorium-style room filled with hundreds of students, most of whom were not there my (sic) choice and would often choose to chat, text, or dilly-dally on their laptop rather than listen to the lecture. Students were expected to copy the information on the slides (which was largely numbers and equations) so they could memorize and regurgitate it later for evaluation. The lack of expression from the instructor paired with the large number of distractions in the room made it difficult to stay focused.

2. Speakers who delivered lectures in a monotone voice made learning boring regardless of the setting. Lectures may be boring for most students, but a good instructor can make it come alive with used of voice and storytelling. Conversely, an instructor that speaks in way that connotes that he is bored will make the experience even more tedious. Beth O. discusses one of her college professors in this manner. “The professor's voice was monotone and he simply read each slide and elaborated on it slightly. Other multimedia would have helped.” The setting for W was much different, but the experience was similar in at least one respect. “The tour guide spoke in a flat tone and presented fact after fact about the artifacts present. She did not ask questions or involve the audience, and the tour progressed at a set pace.”

3. When it is difficult to understand what the teacher is saying, learners are more likely to become bored. This seemed to be more prevalent in college than at any other level of learning. Revisiting Krisco while learning statistics, he remembers that the “teacher spoke English poorly”, making it hard to stay involved in what was being said in class each day. Scientist had to deal with a similar situation in chemistry. “The instructor was an Indian man with a monotone voice and an accent so heavy that it was nearly impossibly to decipher what he was saying. At the front of the class was a large screen displaying the slides for the lecture. His heavy accent also made it very difficult to understand.”

4. The more formal the setting, the more boring the learning. The more the environment implies that it is a place of higher learning; the more students feel that the experience is one drained of fun. Yonders, recalling a formal setting that she had experienced in college, states, “The instruction was completely redundant to the text. The instructor provided zero value over the text, yet class attendance was part of the grade, so you had to be present.” Snowgirl adds, “The professor would present the material in long lectures in a huge lecture hall while showing (occasionally) slides on a large screen. The lecture hall was large enough to hold about 500 students, and it was expected that we would sit and listen, and take notes. The professor did not give time for asking questions until the very end of class, but there were so many students it wasn't conducive to discussion at all.”

5. Being told what to learn rather than choosing what to learn increases the likelihood that the learning experience will be tedious. Learners like to feel they have some control in their learning experience. If not, they have a tendency to shut off to what is being taught. Ecuakatie refers to an all to common example, one that exposes many ways to make learning dull. “In my online traffic school class, we were expected to read webpages full of text. There were several chapters of pages of straight text and minimal graphics, and at the end we had to answer questions about what we had read. The content was based on the DMV Drivers' Handbook- laws of driving and rules of the road. The words were not exciting or creative- instead they just presented the facts. Every once in a while there would be a random sentence about the author, such as "The author played the trombone when he was younger." These sentences were also tested on, to make sure that we had read every sentence of the test. The reading was torture. It was repetitive, dull, factual, numerical, ungrammatical, and jumped from topic to topic.”


 * What Makes Learning Fun?**

1. Having a choice in what is being learned increases the interest level of the student. If given a voice in the learning experience, the learner is more likely to enjoy the experience. Mrs. Teacher certainly found this to be the case. Her learning experience was a lecture on Aztec/Mexica culture, but a lecture she actually enjoyed, “The event took place at a community center. The instructor delivered his lecture in a story telling way. He used many visuals, artifacts, and musical instruments. He was also very personable. We sang, laughed, and also had an opportunity to learn dances. What made learning experience fun was that it was hands-on. The environment was playful and safe.” Bobbie’s experience was in a much different setting (she was learning sweatshirt design), but had a similar end result. “We picked out the pattern of the material and paints. We were allowed to be creative in any design we chose. Ironed the pattern onto the shirt and painted it with vibrant colors. At the end of the class everyone seemed to be happy and amazed with what they had created.”

2. Interaction with others in the learning environment stimulates interest and fun. Most learners enjoy having the opportunity to share their thoughts, ideas, and feelings with others while they are learning. Masher found this to be the case for him while Mr. Craig, demonstrated physical principles and laws. “One project involved working with a partner to create a bridge out of balsa wood. The class then competed to see who designed the best bridge based on it's weight and ability to hold weight. The winners would make the "Wall of Fame". Of course, I currently don't remember the exact principle of physics this demonstrated, but I was impressed with the way the design could boost the physical properties of the materials. I never looked at bridges the same again.”

3. Having the ability to move around at least occasionally increases blood flow and the flow of fun. Anytime the body can be involved in the learning experience, the fun factor increases dramatically. Marty J noticed this in his first golf lesson. “It involved me first taking a swing as I normally would. The instructor then helped me set up my stance and approach and had me practice my new swing using his suggestions. Then we video-taped the session and we broke down things to work on to help improve my swing. Most of the instruction took place in the driving range except for the video swing analysis. It was fun because I was outside on a beautiful day and I learned something while at the same time getting some exercise.” Dancing queen delves into this even more deeply as she discusses learning Brazilian dance. “This was fun because it involved music and dancing, both which are exhilarating to me, plus it has the added benefit of boosting the seratonin (sic), adrenalin - or feel good chemical. It involved paying close attention and trying to follow what was presented immediately, so memory was stimulated and I was challenged to see if I could complete what was being presented. I learned 4 different dances in a short amount of time and since I had the long time goal of learning latin dance so I could go to places where other people performed it. As a side benefit I was also getting exercise which was my main goal of attending the gym.”

4. Learning that can be immediately useful is usually more fun than learning a subject/skill that does not appear to relate to the learner’s life. Learning does not take place in a vacuum. If the learner does not see how the learning will apply to her life, then little learning or fun will occur. Honky Cat found this to be the case as she took cooking classes. “These classes were extremely fun, first because I love cooking and baking, and then because we were taught techniques that we were able to immediately practice (hands-on) in the class.” Teacher24 agreed as she learned how to use interactive boards in her classroom. “We were shown each component and then allowed to "play" with that component immediately after. Then we were asked to create a presentation with the software but were not required to present in class. I liked immediately being able to use each feature of the program as it was being explained.”

5. Including simulations or games makes the learning more interesting and fun. Ecuakatie recalls a learning experience that demonstrates how effective and powerful simulations can be. “We got to walk on the same field as the Confederate soldiers had walked. We got to dress-up in soldier uniforms, play the part of a soldier, be outside, and share an experience that connected us to the actual battle. We were surrounded by environmental cues (uniforms, cannons, fields) and we had recently studied the Civil War, so the context was clear. The experience was real and I could connect with it easily.” Lou remembers how the instructor used games along with instruction to make music come alive for him. “Once we were further along in the class we played this really fun game where we were broke into teams, family feud style and the instructor would play a particular jazz song for a moment and we had to name the artist. . . I thought playing the game was a fun way to test our knowledge it was interesting to see how much we all knew and we had fun too.”


 * Implications**

Most of the survey results reinforced my own feelings about learning. Lectures in formal settings are dull, while encouraging students to interact with one another and/or move around while learning makes the process more fun for most types of learners. The difficulty lies in bring this into the classroom. Many of the enjoyable learning experiences that were related took place outside a formal classroom setting that cannot readily be duplicated in most classes. Another important aspect, letting the learner have a voice in what they will learn, is also difficult to replicate in a school setting. There are certain courses and definite curricula that must be taught. This places limitations how what can be taught, how it can be taught, and when the learning must take place.

The most important concepts I have gleaned from these surveys and that I can apply to my teaching are threefold: •	It important is to make use of my voice as a tool to create interest in the subject at hand. No matter how dull my students may find the material, they cannot even suspect that I find it equally boring. They must feel and hear my interest, and how I manipulate my voice and body language has an enormous impact on how they perceive the material. •	A variety of media should be used to add depth and meaning to the information I am trying to impart. Just looking at my face can be incredibly wearisome! The students need to see text, images, maps, videos, globes, and posters to stimulate them visually. •	To the degree possible, I need to allow my students a way to interact with one another while still focusing on the material at hand. This is difficult in the room environment I have, but it is easy to see from the research that most students need to interact with their peers if any true learning is going to take place. This may through games, projects, peer reading, shared notes, or any number of methods. What’s important is that the students have a chance to share their ideas with one another, not just me.

(Note: For whatever reason, many of the editing features such as using headers and colors, have not been working on this page.)